Column: Inside the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame & Museum

Thursday

Mar 13, 2014 at 12:01 AMMar 13, 2014 at 10:48 AM

Jack Kimbro

I came across this in the March edition of The Singing News and I wanted to share it with you.

The Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame & Museum is at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and admission to both are included in Dollywood’s entrance price. More than 3,000 Southern gospel pieces of memorabilia are housed there – including such items as instruments, attire, recordings, photographs, posters, videos, original song manuscripts and considerably more. There is even a replica of the first ever Blackwood Brothers customized tour bus – the brainchild of their great bass, J.D. Sumner. All 155 current members of the Hall of Fame are honored with a permanently displayed bronze engraved plaque.

The Hall and Museum are overseen by the Southern Gospel Music Association that furnishes both staffing and building maintenance for the complex as well as displaying an ever growing collection of mementos. This organization is charged with preserving the history of the association, preparing for its future, and selecting the inductees for each year’s Hall of Fame class.